I picked up this card in a trade with Sportsgraphing.com member williemays24. Rich Hill is a 28-year-old lefty who’s spent exactly one full season in the majors, so I think Upper Deck may have been a smidge optimistic when they included him in their 2006 Clear Path To Greatness insert set.

Then again, I’m not sure what the designer at Upper Deck was thinking about when this design was pitched. Like the 2008 Stadium Club Beam Team cards, these are printed on clear plastic. Unlike the Beam Team cards — which look extremely nice in person — I’d argue that the Clear Path to Greatness card looks slightly better in the scan. At least my scanner lid keeps you from looking right through the large image of Hill on the right side of the card.

This is really one of those designs that’s so ugly, I had to get one for my collection. Hill is a nice choice — he’s been extremely friendly to the Mets in his brief career. Twice he’s pitched against New York, and twice he’s lost. Met fans can’t ask for much more from the opposition.